
Hi fintech friends, I'm Osborne, investor in early stage startups.
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🧐🏆 Posts of the Week
US and India have delivered higher return on equity than most markets globally since 2016 pic.twitter.com/ct7jgBY0yu— Manish Singh (@refsrc) November 9, 2025
TIL
Pine Labs started in 1998, as a company that provides retail automation solutions to petroleum companies!
The first POS device they launched was in 2003 or 2004— Shobhit Bakliwal (@shobhitic) November 14, 2025
Top 0.1% of households account for 31% of annual income (wealth effect will be more)
Top 5.1% of households account for 54% of annual income
Per capita income is <$900 for bottom 90% of Indians.— Kunal Shah (@kunalb11) November 12, 2025
🇮🇳 India
📰 Market Updates
Groww, an Indian online brokerage platform, raised INR 6,633cr ($748M) in its Initial Public Offering (IPO), closing 29% higher with a market cap of INR 79.5K cr ($9bn).
Pine Labs, a fintech company, listed on the Indian stock exchanges at 10% premium, raised INR 3,900 cr ($440M), and secured three payments-related licenses.
super.moneypartnered with multiple banks to issue 470K RuPay-backed secured credit cards linked to UPI in 14 months.
MobiKwik, a digital payments startup, reported 80% QoQ EBITDA growth in Q2 FY26, with strong payments and financial services performance and reduced operating loss to ₹6.4cr.
Slice Small Finance Bankreported net profit of ₹7 crore ($810K) in H1 FY26, turning profitable after previous year's loss.
NPCI International Payments Limitedpartnered with Bahrain fintech BENEFIT to enable real-time cross-border UPI payments between India and Bahrain.
Juspay, a payments orchestration startup, turned profitable with ₹62 crore ($7M) net profit in FY2025 after reporting ₹97 crore ($11M) loss in FY2024, driven by 61% revenue growth and 150% increase in total payment volume.
Federal Card Servicescommitted to invest $250M in the Indian market to build out its metal card infrastructure business.
WestBridge Capitalincreased its stake in Star Health by $12 million in the first half of fiscal year 2026, while preparing to launch a new general insurance venture, Kiwi.
Bajaj Financereported 24% core profit growth to INR 4,251 crore ($479M) in Q2 FY26.
State Bank of Indiaplanned comprehensive digital transformation of its core banking systems over the next two years.
India's life insurance new business premium reached INR 34,007cr ($3.8bn) in October 2025, growing 12.1% YoY driven by individual segment and GST reduction, according to CareEdge Ratings
SBI and PNB banks drafted a joint strategy to enter M&A deal financing market, targeting Rs 1.2 lakh crore ($13.5bn) in funding from April 2026.
Juspay, a payments orchestration startup, reported INR 514cr ($58M) in revenue for FY2025, representing 48% YoY growth.
International Finance Corporation (IFC)invested INR 285 crore (USD 33 million) in Axis Max Life Insurance to support solvency and expansion in Indian insurance sector in fiscal year 2024-25.
🚀 Product Launches
PhonePepartnered with OpenAI to bundle ChatGPT features into its mobile app, targeting broader AI adoption in India.
Mahindra & Mahindrapartnered with Manulife to launch a life insurance joint venture, committing INR 3,600 crore each and targeting rural and semi-urban markets in India.
Perfioslaunched Nexus 360 credit decisioning platform in Malaysia and Philippines, enabling 15-minute credit decisions for financial institutions.
📝 Regulatory Updates
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) recognizedSelf-Regulated PSO Association (SRPA) as a Self-Regulatory Organisation (SRO) for Payment System Operators (PSOs).
IRDAIexamined health insurance claim settlement shortfalls after 54% of insurance ombudsman complaints related to health policies in FY2024.
💰 Financing Announcements
ACQUISITION:
Deutsche Bank's German asset manager DWS Groupacquired 40% stake in Nippon Life India Asset Management's alternatives business to scale up investments and launch joint products.
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🌏 Asia
📰 Market Updates
DBSpartnered with Ant International to connect PayLah! with Alipay+, enabling QR payments across 100+ markets and exploring innovative fintech solutions.
Cambodia and Singaporelaunched first phase of cross-border QR code payment system, enabling Cambodian travelers to make real-time transactions in Singapore.
TenPay Globalpartnered with National Bank of Cambodia to link Bakong system with Weixin Pay network for streamlined digital payments between China and Cambodia.
DBS and J.P. Morganpartnered to create an interbank tokenised deposit transfer framework enabling instant cross-border blockchain payments. Hear the inside story on our Money Code podcast, featuring Naveen Malella, Global Co-Head of Kinexys at J.P. Morgan.
State Bank of Pakistanreported Roshan Digital Account inflows of $205M in October 2025, with cumulative total reaching $11.31bn since launch.
Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)launched first-ever cross-border AI in finance partnership.
GFTN Capitalpartnered with Accion to launch an alliance and expand financial access for underserved global communities, targeting 1.6 billion unbanked people.
XTransfer and Maybankpartnered to enhance financial technology collaboration at Singapore FinTech Festival 2025.
DBS Bankreported revenue of $768M in 2025 attributed to AI initiatives, including long-term AI strategy across 370 use cases and 1,500+ models.
Coinbaselaunched Coinbase Business in Singapore, its first international expansion offering crypto payment and asset management solutions for businesses.
Ant Internationaladded iris authentication to Alipay+ GlassPay augmented reality payment solution through partnerships with Xiaomi and Meizu.
Visalaunched pilot programme enabling businesses to send payouts in stablecoins via Visa Direct, targeting faster global money movement.
Ant Internationallaunched Alipay+ GenAI Cockpit, an AI platform for fintechs, with TNG eWallet and easypaisa as early adopters to automate customer service.
Franklin Templetonlaunched Singapore's first tokenised retail fund with DBS Bank, enabling fractional ownership starting at $20 via blockchain technology.
Finmopartnered with Standard Chartered to enable multi-currency accounts across Singapore, UAE, Hong Kong, and UK for businesses.
MAS in Singapore proposed comprehensive AI risk management guidelines for financial institutions to ensure responsible AI implementation.
MAS in Singapore and OJK in Indonesia signed MOU to enhance FinTech cooperation and digital finance innovation.
GFTN Capitalpartnered with SBI Holdings to launch a $200M global innovation fund targeting growth-stage FinTech businesses worldwide.
💰 Financing Announcements
PowerCred, a Singapore-based digital lending AI startup, raised $1.1M.
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